Video noise reduction is a significant component in modern video encoding architecture, and video denoising can substantially improve video quality and video compression efficiency for video encoding. Denoising algorithms are traditionally one of the primary components in the preprocessing modules in commercial video encoders. Many of the encoders have advanced denoising functions, such as motion compensated 3D denoising. A spatial-temporal hybrid filter with motion compensation is an advanced denoising technology used by many commercial video encoders. Prior art filtering methods, however, can be prone to unreliable local pixel data used for filtering operations, which can result in unreliable filtering results and visual artifacts. In video, the unreliable data, also known as outliers, are often caused by object motion and occlusion.